The Running Riot Podcast LIVE Tonight!

The Running Riot just wants to remind you to tune into tonight's LIVE interview with Goosechecka from Grifballhub. Come hang out in the Green Room before the interview for some music and a little precast chat. Along with backstage passes to join us in the show, we will also be giving away a few Defiant Map Pack codes! The Green Room goes live at 9:30pm ET and the interview starts at 10. Find a way to make it happen. You can do it.

Project Magma Releases Myth II 1.7.2 Public Beta

Play over the Internet for free!

Project Magma, the group of fans who volunteer their time to help keep the Myth game series alive and updated for modern day systems, has just released the second Public Beta for their upcoming Myth II version 1.7.2 update, and they need your help! Their news release is below:

"The second public beta of Myth II 1.7.2 is now available. Everyone is encouraged to install it and help test the next version of Myth II. It is compatible with previous versions, so you don't have to worry about any red games. A summary of the changes from previous versions can be viewed here. The goal is to find any bugs, so that we can fix them before the final version. To contribute feedback please join us on our forums.

Marissa's Bunny: The Gift Pack that Keeps on Giving

We have a winner!

Looks like they're having a really hard time giving great stuff away over at Marissa's Bunny. It's really heartwarming to see such generosity on display. If you want to see it first hand, or you just want to win great prizes, hit the link and check it out at the jump. Thanks to HBO for keeping us up to speed.

Bungie All Stars - Week 11

Go on a Spawn Spree!

I read a forum post last week that recommended we stop doing these All Stars competitions on account of keeping the Star Nameplate ultra rare. No dice! In terms of raw percentages, the Star is in no danger of becoming tarnished. Besides, how else am I gonna pad out the updates?

Here are this week's rules:

Head into Forge and lay down spawn points to fashion your greatest work. You can utilize standard Forge objects as accent pieces, but spawn points must be the main event.

You have from this very second until Thursday, March 24th at 11:59pm PT to submit your entry for consideration to contest@bungie.com.

Use the subject line “Bungie All Star Week 11” without the quotation marks.

The size limit for attachments is 10MB. Make sure you attach the screenshot itself, and include a link to the original in your Bungie.net File Share.

One submission per person. Please include your Bungie.net profile and gamertag in your email.

Map Spotlight Week 16 - Precipice

Draw the Line takes forging to a whole new level with his extraordinary imagination, effort, and dexterity. Read on for more information about his most recent creation, Precipice.

Q. Who are you and why do you forge?

A. People online know me by Draw the Line, and I've been playing Halo since the original game was released. I have a strong creative side to me, so when forge was released in Halo 3, I immediately became addicted. I had a few popular creations back then, but forge 2.0 is a whole new beast.

Q. What was your inspiration for Precipice?

A. Precipice was largely inspired by the space itself. I was taking a break from forging another map and decided to start looking for a spot for my next project. I found that small ledge above blood gulch and was immediately inspired. I began throwing pieces down quickly and ended up having a rough draft of the map ready after only a few hours of forging. I also live near the city of Chicago, so my creations generally have an urban influence to them.

Q. Where is Precipice located and why did you choose that location?

A. Like I said above, it's located right above the cave (I believe?) in Blood Gulch. It's a unique space I don't see used too often, and I was inspired immediately.

Q. Did you employ any unusual forge techniques in making Precipice?

A. I wouldn't say I used any unusual techniques, but I did try to keep item count to a minimum to help the map's performance.

Q. What separates your map from other maps?

A. I definitely forge with an urban mind set. Most of my maps feel very structured and logical in how they're presented. They also tend to be less elaborate than many others I've seen. I think less complex layouts lead to some of the best Halo experiences.

Q. Anything else people should know before they download?

A. I've done a ridiculous amount of testing on the weapon set in this map. I think I've just about got it right, but if you think there is a way that it could be improved to promote map movement, let me know. And of course, I'm always open to constructive criticism.

Thanks so much for your time, Draw. As for the rest of you, please be sure to download the map file below, and provide with Draw with any feedback / constructive criticism that you deem necessary.

With that said, don't forget to purchase a charity wristband from the Bungie Store to help support those in Japan. Every penny counts, my friends.

Teabag Prevention Presents - Condemned

Condemned features hallways, rooms fit for a firefight, a low-gravity room, and a slightly darker feel than the other maps of Reach. Firefights on this map will range from short to long range firefights. You can pretty much use any kind of weapon on this map if you play your cards right. And that's why we're here; To tell you how to play your cards right.

Forge Lesson 45: Pacing

If you've been following this series, then I must first apologize for my absence. Good news is I'm back and ready to keep delving into minor but important details that can get your map on the road to Reaching Perfection.

Today's lesson is a look into how timing and speed come into play when designing your map. Pacing is one of the tools that designers use to keep the gameplay balanced for both teams. Even on asymmetrical maps like Highlands, Tempest, and Blood Gultch where symmetrical gameplay is still desired. But pacing goes a little further than that and can serve as another thing for you to consider when prepping your maps for the Community Playlists.

* Exploring pacing involves understanding how time and speed relate to your map's design
* Pacing can be used to help create fair and balanced gameplay, even on asymmetrical maps
* Understanding the pacing of your maps such as the timing to power weapons and locations can help you understand your map better and make better design decisions

The Running Riot Podcast LIVE

Episode 32 of The Running Riot Podcast will be recorded LIVE this Wednesday, March 23rd at 9:30pm ET. Our guest will be Goose Checka from GrifballHub. She is taking charge and letting the Halo community know that Grifball is here and not going anywhere. Don't forget!

Join us, in a spectacular display of Carnage, we want you to be a part of! This week, in multiple lobbies, two teams of 8 will be pitted against one another over 5 games to see who really is the best; will it be the Red Team? Or will it be the Blue Team? This week's carnage event will feature maps from the new Defiant Map Pack and gametypes will range from Slayer variants to Objective games and other fun gametypes.

Be sure to stay after the matches to continue the fun in some FFA Carnage! Not in it to compete? Don't worry, neither are we! Our goal is to have fun, and without you, that's impossible.

Want to see what you're in for before you make any haste decisions? Here's a list of the previous Carnages. You'll find write ups, stats, and even videos of the game! Stop by our official group for more information and how to become involved more involved in these events.

Top 10 Firefight Moments: Ep 17

Hey everyone it's Anoj and right now it's time for the ten greatest Firefight moments from around the Halo Community. Sit back and enjoy the Covenant vs. Spartan madness! Check back next week to see the top moments from Campaign too.

Defiant Map Pack FAQ

It's official!

Defiant Map Pack FAQ

If you purchased the Defiant Map Pack from Xbox LIVE Marketplace and you haven't experienced a single, solitary problem, congratulations - you can comfortably count yourself among the majority. You don't need to read another word.

If you find yourself in the other camp, don't worry. We've been in direct communication with Microsoft and 343 Industries and they're committed to making sure all your Defiant Map Pack needs are met.

Here are the current technical support topics pertaining to the Defiant Map Pack.

Q. What is this “Defiant Map Pack” you speak of, and how can I get it?

A. The Defiant Map Pack is the latest pack of maps for Halo: Reach. Designed by Certain Affinity, in partnership with 343 Industries, it features two multiplayer maps, Highlands and Condemned, and one Firefight mission, Unearthed. You can get the Defiant Map Pack right now in the Marketplace for 800 Microsoft Points.

Q: Okay, I gave you my hard earned monies in exchange for one brand spankin' new Defiant Map Pack, but after successfully downloading and installing it, none of the maps show up in the game menu. What gives?

A: Turns out that there's currently a technical issue tied to the number of Marketplace Content items you can have active for Halo: Reach at any one given time (this does not include Saved Games, Screenshots, or Saved Films). Right now, you can only have a total of three content items simultaneously active. Items that fit the bill include pre-order bonus or retailer exclusive armor, map packs, or your Bungie Pro confirmation.

Microsoft is working on a long-term solution, but for now, you'll need to delete one of the three items you have active. Here's how you do it:

In your Xbox 360 Dashboard, sign into your profile, and navigate to the System Settings tile in the My Xbox list. From the settings pane, select Memory.

Select Hard Drive as the storage device.

Select Games.

Select Halo: Reach.

Select the Bungie Pro Confirmation Marketplace Content item.

Delete it.

Deleting the Bungie Pro confirmation item will not impact your Bungie Pro Membership in any way.

Q. I can play the two multiplayer maps, but the Firefight map "Unearthed" gives me the error "Players failed to load content" when I select it in the lobby. This makes me sad. Bungie, you can make me happy again, right?

A. Yes! Well, maybe. You might have installed the Defiant Map Pack to a memory unit on a console that also has a hard drive. That won’t work. You need to install the Defiant Map Pack to the hard drive only.

A. Hate is such a strong word. Bungie Pro Video Rendering requires us to write custom code to our internal systems. Like you, we’ve only just received the latest version of the Defiant Map Pack. Our programmers are coding like the wind to ensure video rendering is up and running as quickly as possible. If you do submit a file for rendering, or already have, don’t worry, we’ll queue it up and spit it out in 24-48 hours.

Non-Defiant Map Pack video rendering is unaffected.

That's it for now. We'll keep in touch with Microsoft and keep a watchful eye on the community in the days ahead to make sure we keep tabs on any key issues you might experience.

Bungie and Mobile Bungie Upgrades!

Spit, polish, and stats on the go.

The online team has completed some small upgrades to Bungie.net. You might have noticed our nice, new drop down menus or your shiny new selection of user created forum avatars. They also made some significant updates to the mobile Bungie.net experience, including the addition of stats and player comparisons.

Like so:

If you want to see it for yourself, just point your mobile device towards Bungie.net.

The Animation of Halo: Reach

Straight outta GDC.

If you're ready to get your Monday morning learn on, Joe and Tam are ready to do some certified teachifying. The dynamic duo combined powers to deliver a super-sized talk at GDC, and as a result their presentation deck is no small download, clocking in at 444MB. If you have the bandwidth, and the desire to learn about how Joe and Tam helped make Halo: Reach's character performances all kinds of awesome, click the link below and get to downloading.

"With the goal in mind to improve the character performances in Halo: Reach we discuss the challenges we overcame and the concessions we made to ship on time and on budget with better quality. Bungie developed many new solutions with both process and technology to solve animation problems we had in the past. This lecture outlines the most prominent issues and provides highlights of our approach."

Bungie All Stars - Week 10

Let's rock!

It's hard to believe that we've already hit double digits for Bungie All Stars. We built on solid ground and we're showing no signs of erosion. Are you ready to keep on rockin' for week 10?

Using the rocks in Forge World (or Tempest) as your building material, create an awe-inspiring sculpture worthy of an art museum and take an in-game screenshot featuring it from the best possible angle.

You have from this very second until Thursday, March 17th at 11:59pm PT to submit your entry for consideration (and public ridicule) to contest@bungie.com.

Use the subject line “Bungie All Star Week 10” without the quotation marks.

The size limit for preview attachments (required) is 10MB and you should use your best judgment and discretion in terms of the nature of the content you choose to submit. Fig leaves, if required, are not optional for your rendition of Michelangelo's David.

One submission per person. Please include your Bungie.net profile and gamertag in your email.

(Apologies for the puns in the opening paragraph. Now go and make awesome.)

Pup n' Friends - PAX East 2011

If you were unable to attend PAX East this year to check out the Grifball Evolved panel, here's your opportunity to view the special video which was presented today on the big screen in the Naga Theater.

The last time Grifball had a PAX panel, I put together an exclusive Pup n' Friends compilation, so it was only fitting that I do it one more time. The video features not only many of my Grifball pals, but also a few favorite clips of folks I don't know from the Halo community, courtesy of the super handy Bungie.net file search. If you spot yourself in the video, welcome to your 15 minutes of fame.

Inspired to play some competitive Grifball? Is matchmaking Grifball just not enough smash for you? With the GGL winding down, it's nearly time for another season of the AGLA. Sign-ups are currently taking place on Grifball.com. You've got until March 18th to assemble your team, register for the league and take part in the greatest online video game sport played inside a first person shooter.

The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings

Last week, the Tyrant released the final chapter of his Halo Reach Mythic Difficulty guide on HBO, Lone Wolf, an epic conclusion to the Mythic trilogy that began with Halo 3. For those of you who missed the big debut, the video is now available on his YouTube channel and is packed full of Covenant carnage played to the heart-pounding soundtrack of Red vs Blue: Revelation. And remember to catch the extended version at HBO where the Tyrant takes his Mythic bow before vanishing into the night.

Teabag Prevention Presents - Sword Base

Sword Base is another multi-level map. The map features the interior of ONI's Sword base on Reach. There are many hallways, some bridges and a couple power weapons you and your team should definitely secure. Travel as a team through the halls. Just don't get distracted by the monitors and big screen TVs...